Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings

Marian Gaborik getting his butt kicked.

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Purple_PrideComments Off

Enjoyed this video from last night’s game.  Marian Gaborik – yes, that Marian Gaborik … got into a fight last night.  An no, it wasn’t a fight for the last dollop of salve to rub on his tender groin.  It was a hockey fight.  Ok, not so much a fight as it was a beat-down – don’t blink or you might miss it.  Gabby goes down pretty quick – no wonder we had to keep Boogard on the Wild this year … have to have at least one enforcer after Rocky Gabby left.

A Left Turn Into The State Of Hockey

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Bretts_BFFComments Off

We’re only a couple of weeks into the season – and into the new Richards/Fletcher regime – but things have clearly changed from previous seasons in the Lemaire/Risebrough system. The pace of the games is faster and more aggressive, shots on goal are up (both for and against) and I’ve seen more defenseman rush with the puck in these first six games than I think I did in all the years prior. It’s fun to watch – if you’re the other team.

The Minnesota Wild is 1-4-0 in their first five games this year. And their only victory came with a ridiculous 3-0 comeback victory in overtime. Even with that win, the Wild have looked punch-less in their games and almost unorganized at both ends of the rink.

We all knew there would be some growing pains with a rookie coach, rookie GM and a host of new players. But after years of hearing players whine because they’re relegated to playing Lemaire’s boring trap-style hockey, they’ve finally been given the chance to play the up-tempo game they crave and all I hear are excuses on how they’re falling back into the “old style” and “it takes time” to get into the new system.

Wrong. You’ve played hockey your whole life. You’ve already learned the game. And schemes don’t cause two and three goal deficits in the first period. Effort does.

I fully expect the Wild to find some balance and become more competitive. But it’s up to the coaching staff to instill a sense of accountability within the locker room and time for the veterans and leaders of the time to hold teammates accountable for sub-par play.

They can’t continue to play catch up. Especially on the road. We now have two division games at Edmonton and Vancouver and a slew of injuries plaguing the team, so let’s hope the energy is there from the start and the team doesn’t dig a deep hole to start the season.